Who Knows What?
by livingbetweenpages
Summary: It has been eighty-three days since Percy left for a quest. Watch Annabeth as she suffers through high school problems and then meets up with a lot of people and situations, only in complicated directions.
1. Chapter 1

When I didn't hesitate to respond yes to the question of whether I wanted to continue my learning… this is definitely not what I had in mind.

"High school?" It's a last ditch effort, classes start today.

"Sorry! Nothing I can do! You're signed up! Here, I printed out your schedule, and it looks like you have world history first," my dad says cheerfully. He has become too busy with his new job to teach me anything himself and ever since Percy… disappeared, he doesn't like to leave me alone.

I go to refill my cup of coffee and he tries to stop me, "I don't like you drinking so much coffee sweetheart," he says, "the health effects-"

"Was that a question? Need me to rattle off a few?" I start just to bother him and then see this face. "Fine But, I can't leave until I finish my letter to Percy." With my words, his face drops just a little. He doesn't think that I notice.

When he left, I promised to write him letters everyday so that when he got back it would be like he never left.

And I haven't stopped.

"Actually, dad," I say, "I think that's the bus, so I'll just finish it there! Bye!" I don't wait for his response, instead I steal his piece of toast and run out the door.

I had tried to think of Piper as I got dressed this morning, but as soon as I walk through the doors I know I got it all wrong. No sweater is big enough to hide me from this crowd, no matter how blue it is.

That's the only color I can wear now. Anything to feel closer to him.

I slide into a seat toward the back of the class and can already hear the whispers starting.

I ignore them and continue writing. _So far, so good. School looks like it's going to be great!_ I lie.

The teacher has trouble getting everyone settled down since it's the first day and for some reason everyone's excited.

Unlike most teachers, this one starts right off the bat by introducing the first unit: Ancient Greece.

I can't help it. I laugh.

The teacher's eyes start to narrow until she gets a better look at me and tries to hide a small smile. "I was going to open up the room to start naming some Greek gods, but why don't we start off with you, young lady? Oh, and please, introduce yourself."

"Annabeth Chase. Athena, of course. Hephaestus, Aphrodite, Hades, or Pluto if you prefer, Zeus or Jupiter, Aries or Mars, and don't forget about Posiden. Just to name a few."

The students are all gawking at me and nobody, but me, notices the teacher's narrowing glare. She has another question for me, "Are you particular towards Roman gods, Annabeth?"

I smile all too sweetly, "I just don't like them to get forgotten."

The bell rings and I am walking to my next class when I feel someone looking over my shoulder. I am immediately prepared to fight when they squeal.

"We are in the same class next! My name is Melanie and just hearing you talk in Mrs. John's class told me you were, like, a total genius!"

I decide that having any friend is better than none, no matter how trivial they may seem! So, I humor her.

She invites me to her table, for lunch. There is a group of girls and I can't tell if they are trying to look identical, or if they don't have any personality to back up their outfits.

Out of the blue, one of them asks if I had a boyfriend. While I stammer for an answer, she starts talking again.

"Because, like, James Miller is over there, and he is so making eyes at you. Do I have to mention how capital 'H' hot he is? Oh wait, you're not blind."

Their claims are proven true. The next day, the boy approaches me at my locker. "Annabeth, right?" Original opening line.

"And you are?" I ask, unimpressed.

"Really? You haven't heard of me? Captain of our varsity football team that almost won states last year?"

He left one detail open, "Why didn't you?"

"What?"

"Why didn't you win states? Bad leadership?"

"Yeah," he says, smirk ever present, "Not me. This year, you have my word, I am bringing back the goal."

I already don't like this guy. "You forgot the 'we.' It's kind of the whole point of team sports." I walk away and am bombarded with newfound hostility from the girls.

"Do you, actually know how jealous you made us for even getting a chance with him!"

"Why!"

"God, who knew you're such a bitch!"

"Like, are you actually blind?


	2. Chapter 2

It doesn't take long for all good things to shift.

The girls no longer invited me to sit with them, instead now tried to trip me as I go past. I didn't have to think hard before stomping on her feet.

They find me in the library one afternoon and don't bother to whisper their opinions. I think about offering them a megaphone.

"Ha, look at her!" one of them goes, "she'll never get a boyfriend!"

At that moment, all I wanted to do was scream just how right they were. That, just, "you're right." Percy was my everything. Even if I managed to get someone else? You don't get second chances at that kind of love.

Instead, I push past them and hurry out towards the busses.

I'm interrupted once I get out the door, by a boy I've never seen before. "Hey, Annabeth, I've seen you around and well… I'm a friend of James."

"Does he pay you to say that?" I continue before he asks the expected 'what?' "Your jersey," I say, pointing to it, "You play football and he's the captain."

He leads me toward a corner of the building and I am not sure why I follow him. His demeanor changes and suddenly what he is saying is the most important thing ever. "About James. He's a pretty good guy, right? We are talking about boyfriend material. Especially kissing material…" He continues and the more he talks, the more I believe him. I barely notice when he stops because then James is there.

"Hey, Annabeth," he says, "What's good?"

My answer comes out breathy because he is steadily leaning in closer to me. "You," I gasp just before we close the gap. He doesn't stop, I don't want him to stop until we hear a sharp voice. "Hey, now!" barks a familiar voice.

No.

"What do you think you're doing with my girlfriend!"

I must shake me head clear before I can look. And when I do?

I proceed to march over and punch him in the face. And he's bleeding when he falls back, more out of what looks like surprise.

I step back so I can see both guys. "Which ones are you? Huh? You think it's funny to charmspeak me into betraying the love of my life and then," this is where I start to get really mad and my voice cracks, "Make me think I'm seeing him?

"He's dead! Okay, I finally said it! And I know I am not seeing a dead man, those doors are sealed. Literally!" I scream the last word and am huffing by the end. People are starting to crowd around, but I barely see them as I prepare to kick him, but he doesn't move away.

He moves closer, "Remember the time you broke the rules to sit with me at dinner? You nursed me back to health before you even know me. And how would I know about how amazing that underwater kiss was-"

My breath catches in my throat and I don't want to let myself believe it. "Sea… seaweed brain?"

I think it's his smile that confirms it. "It's really me, wise girl."

Even though all I want to do is kiss him, I wipe the tears from my face and make a quick detour. I pick up James by his shirt.

"Wow," he swallows, "You're really stron-" I cut him off with a smile and a swift knee to the groin.

Percy is trying to hold back a laugh. I turn slowly and then burst into tears before running into his arms.

I'm so consumed by him that I barely notice that we're airborne barely an inch off the ground until Percy begrudgingly stops to scold Jason. "Are you seriously forgetting the reason why we're even here, dude?"

He returns the angry glares from our friends with an embarrassed blush and says, "I just think they deserve their moment of romance after all this time!" He lowers us to the ground and I run over as soon as my feet touch the ground. "Jason!" I only let him go to hug the rest of the crew.

The crowd hasn't dispersed, instead goggling at us from afar. I think about what I said and how I reacted to the two boys. They shouldn't care this much.

"Look, you better expect me to ask more questions about," I make a pointed look at Percy, "all of this, but I only have time for one right now. What is going on? Why isn't the Mist helping us?"

Jason makes a face. "That's sort of why we are here. It's not working. It's a long story-"

"That I don't have time to hear! What are we supposed to do? What if someone got something on camera?" I hiss.

Percy smiles at me, "Good thinking wise girl, I hadn't thought of that!"

"Of course, you didn't! Piper," I start, but she doesn't let me finish.

"I can't charmspeak all these kids in time. We have to act fast."

You'd think they'd have more interesting things to do, but this is a small town and they have nowhere to go. The chatter gets louder and the circle tighter.

I step out of our huddle and take a dramatic bow. "Thank you, ladies and gentlemen, for being the first to take a peek at our skit, one of many, that we hope to perform at the local theater!" I say the last word with unnecessary emphasize. There is nothing saying this will work to quell any rumors, but it is worth of shot. Most people at this school think I'm a nut anyway, thanks to the girl's work up of me.

Most of the crowd mutters in disappointment and wander away, but a few stay. That's when I remember the guy who led me outside in the first place. I start running when I see him trying to escape behind a corner.

"Hey, big talker! Number 23, football! It'll only get worse the more you run!" Maybe these threats are too big for a high school, maybe not. Maybe they have nothing to back them up. I wouldn't count on that being true.

When I finally catch up to him, I'm about to say something when Percy slams him against the brick.

"What do you want with my girlfriend? Huh?"

He struggles against the grip and, almost whimpering, says, "I didn't know she had a boyfriend, dude! I was doing my friend, James, a favor. I can convince people sometimes… of things." Percy looks very interested in continuing his interrogation until Piper steps in.

"Settle down, Perce, look at his boy: he doesn't know what he is doing. I'm guessing he's Venus' son, because the Greeks don't forget about each other."

"How has he not been killed?"

"My name is Basil Jenkins! I am 17 years of age and I play the cello! Okay, not many people know that about me!" I start laughing. He must think we are trying to kill him and is trying to make us see him as innocent.

"Neat trick," I say, "But, we aren't going to hurt you. I was going to help you not get you and a bunch of other people killed, but it's on you. Maybe he's so bad that no one wants him," I add, volunteering the possibility to my friends. Jason cracks up, but Piper frowns.

"Basil, is it? Do you realize what you can do?"

Percy wraps his hand around mine. "We don't have time for this, guys! Annabeth, we think some demigods like Octavian are trying to purposely out us. To take credit for the things they do, maybe."

Before anyone can make a decision, James struts by. "Hey, Annabeth," he draws, "We must have had some sort of miscommunication because it was pretty good for a while."

I thought Percy was going to go crazy, I know his hand is on his riptide, but just then Leo comes up.

Brushing off his hands, he reads what is going on. "Listen, buddy, you don't know who you're messing with. Hands off of Annabeth, got it?"

"Uh, Leo," Percy interjects, "Your hair is kind of on fire." A son of Hephaestus this short may not be threatening at first glance, but you don't mess with a guy whose hand is on fire in front of your face.

"Darn it!" Leo jumps back, annoyed, "This keeps happening." He pats himself down and manages to quell the flames.

James tries to back away, "Sorry, didn't realize the new girl was from a gang of freaks." Having been behind him, I stick my foot out and he falls back against the grass.

"You know," I smirk, "If Clarrissa was here…"

Frank helps me out, "She'd probably just say to kill the misogynistic bastard and be done with it." The poor boy shrinks back in terror.

Piper swats Frank, "For someone who doesn't want to be like his father, you sure seem to like to start a fight."

Hazel seems to pop up out of thin air and is instantly by his side. "Whoa, watch it, it's not like having Venus as a mom doesn't bring baggage to the table."

"Focus, people!" I practically have them standing at attention. "We are going to attract too much attention. Someone said a car? How many does it seat?"

"Only five," Leo mumbles, "If they had given me a minute, I could've gotten us another one."

And now we are adding a stolen car to our list. "Okay, Piper will drive Percy, Leo, Basil, and I." I ignore the confused boy's protests and continue, "The rest of you boys can find your own way there. We meet up at The Kelp's Park because it is always a ghost town. Sorry, not that kind," I add when Nico's head pops up. The team mutters in agreement, everyone starting in their direction when Frank shifts into a bird right there.

"Dude!" Jason cries. I swear Frank shrugs.

"Great. Now, who is bringing, James?"

Basil and James try to make a run for it at the same time. Nico appears in front of them to stop them, and even without the gloom, that boy brings the doom and gloom even without the thing with raising the dead.

Jason adds some lightning to the scene while my boyfriend- man it feels good to be sure of that again- adds some shifting in the earth.

The boys turn slowly, hands raised.

"Oh my gods, stop being so dramatic," I chide.

Percy finds my hand and wraps his fingers in mine and rolls his eyes at the idiots, "Yeah, I can kill you and make it look like an accident."

I glare at him. "Not helping, seaweed brain." He breaks into such I smile that I stop to ask him why.

"No one has called me that in a long time."

"Eighty-three days, to be exact. Don't worry I wrote you letters every day."

"Yep," he leans in close, "sounds about right, wise girl." And he kisses me. And this time, it isn't just a dream.


	3. Chapter 3

Who wouldn't recognize that sputter anywhere? The engine gives out on the side of the road. Of course, it's Volken, and that means it is always in the middle of nowhere.

"Dammit!" Leo storms out of the car. "Really, Dad? Is this funny to you?" he yells up at the sky.

I swear I hear thunder. "Come on, Leo, let's just fix this so we can keep goi—"

"So we can fix this? Excuse me? Are you the son of Hephaestus? Do you have—"

It was my turn to cut him off; we don't have time for this, "A knife? Did you ask if I have a knife? Why, yes, Mr. Valdez, and it is currently against your throat, so I recommend you think carefully about what you say next." A staring contest in sues and Percy pulls me away.

"Okay there! It's great to have the team back together!" He points to the car where Piper is talking to Basil and James.

"You're right, you're right, we have an unclaimed demigod and a human, both completely clueless, that we have taken in our care."

"I would use the term 'care' loosely," Leo mutters. He gets started, tinkering under the hood of the car and ignoring us.

The car empties and Piper turns to me. "Annabeth, I am so glad we have you back. There is so much to catch up on. The Mist, Octavian, meeting Calypso, and, gosh, Jason has gotten this crazy idea in his head that we should try for a baby, and I am going, how do you expect a kid to fit into our lifestyle at the moment? She keeps babblings because it is what she does when she is nervous, so she doesn't notice that I place my hand on my belly.

Percy and I were usually so careful, but then he had to leave so suddenly, that we rushed and got cocky. He isn't back in a week like was planned, but someone else did. For example, Hera, the goddess of marriage, childbirth, and having it out for my boyfriend. When the test that should have only been a precaution came back positive, I hate that I cried. I have always wanted to have children, but not like this. It was unplanned and I wasn't sure the father was even alive.

It's week twelve and I know that means I am about to start showing more. I need to tell y boyfriend, I want to, but I want it to be good news between us.

One of the boys keeps tapping me on the shoulder, but I pretend I don't notice until I hear him speak. "Er, Annabeth, what is that?"

"Aw!" Piper exclaims, "She's just a baby!" Why, as soon as you get pregnant, all people can talk about are babies?

"That thing is a baby?" Basil asks.

"We all start out sometime, dude," Leo says, "But, cyclops's never stray far from their mothers'."

"You had to say it!" Percy says. The mother roars and hides her child behind her leg.

"We are told to find the son of Posideon!" she shrieks.

Leo throws his hands up in the air, "It's always about Percy!" Still, he drags the newbies away. "Hey, I heard they only gave you only eye because you don't have enough brain to run two!" He lights himself on fire and then some nearby trees.

She charges towards him, but notices Percy and starts to turn. I can't let that happen.

"Hey! Big head for nothing! Come get me!" Whatever it is she hears in my voice, she complies. I run away from the group when I realize my mistake

I'm cornered, and the rest of the team is too far away to be of much help.

I hold my hand up. "Wait! You are a new mother, correct?" I ask. Trying to reason with a cyclops isn't my best plan yet, but it should buy me some time.

She grunts, "Yes. It is just me and her. My husband is dead." Not to be slowed down, she raises her club to go in for the final kill shot.

"Wait! I'm pregnant! I am about to have my first child and the man you are trying to kill is the father!" She pauses and blinks her eye. The little one begs until she is finally picked up and smooches her mother on the cheek. It has nothing to do with the conversation, but the affection softens the mother's stance.

"One time," she says, "Next time, you might not have so much luck." With that, she stomps away, shaking the ground with every step. Leo and Piper stare at me in surprise, but I don't see Percy. I scream for him when Piper runs closer.

"Annabeth! Annabeth, calm down, he… he heard what you said."

I hold my breath, "And?"

"And," she explains, "he passed out over there." She points to a spot with foliage that stopped me from seeing him.

"Oh my gods," is about all I can manage.


	4. Chapter 4

Even by the time we get to Kelp's Park, Basil and James haven't said a word and Percy still hasn't woken up.

"What the Hades happened?" Nico asks. It's sweet that even with Will as his boyfriend, I think the little guy will always have feelings for Percy.

Frank transforms back to his human body and Jason runs over.

"He's not hurt," I start, "He just… um, we got attacked by a cyclops, but then she sort of just went away. So, yeah, he is fine."

"But, he's unconscious?" Jason comments, hesitantly. Piper smacks him on the arm and he shoots me an innocent look. Leo looks like he is happy to explain more when Percy shifts.

"Percy? Honey? Wake up, you are okay. It's okay," I murmur.

"Starfish."

"What?" I keep shaking him softly and saying his name.

"Starfish should be her name," he says, more clearly. He opens his eyes wide and grins at me. "We're having a baby," he says.

"We are having a baby," I repeat.

I ask Percy what he told Basil and James when he walks away from them.

"I just told them to chill and promised that we'd explain everything," he says.

"And how do you plan on doing that?" I ask. He places his hands a breath away from my hips.

"May I?" he asks. His eyes are wide and bright when I nod. He runs his fingertips across my stomach and gulps. "I may have been a little blasé when I jumped into the acceptance stage. Can we talk?"

"Big word for you, seaweed brain," I joke, but stop when I see the seriousness in his gaze. "Of course, we can always talk, sweetheart."

I lay down on the grass to watch the fading sun. Percy takes a spot next to me and doesn't move his hand. I will not stop smiling at him like it is the first time I've really seen him. Each time it feels like it is.

"How did this even happen?" he asks.

I laugh and tsk my tongue against my teeth, "Do we need to have the talk? You and me, plus a looming possibility of death and some wine…"

"Sorry," he replies, "that was a stupid question. I just want to know; how do we feel about this?" Ah, the big question. With everything going on, it seems silly to worry about a possible future problem when there are so many in front of us. Simultaneously, this feels like everything.

I dream about a future with Percy and kids of our own all the time, but this feels forced. We are only seventeen. But, we have lived and seen more than most senior citizens can imagine, my brain fires back at me.

"Are we allowed to be?" I murmur. It would be my worst nightmare for one of us to want a kid at the same time another is completely opposed to the idea.

"I hope so." He pulls me up and brushes out his hair. He only does that when he is about to freak out. I am about to ask him what this is all about when he gets down on one knee.

He is not picking something off the ground. Our friends gather around when he pulls out a small blue velvet box.

I gasp when he winks at me. "Annabeth Chase, you are a survivor. You have gone through so much shit in your life and I want to be there for all the rest to come, the bad and the good. I will fight by your side but also try to stay quiet while you read one of your huge books or pull out the big blueprints. You are not only important in my life, you are an essential part of this world. I won't say that you aren't scared of anything because we all are, but you run at your fears head-on. I just hope, Annabeth, that you will spend the rest of your life with me. Ms. Chase, will you marry me?"

I slap him across the face and before he can protest, I kiss him hard. "Took you long enough! Yes! Yes, of course. Oh my gods, yes!" I squeal, and he fits the ring onto my finger.

"I love you." I'm not sure who said it first or who said it louder.

So, here we are. Percy and I are getting married and having a baby, or so it seems. However, I know we are not doing this alone and that Piper, Jason, Leo, Hazel, Nico, and Frank will all be there for the whole ride.


End file.
